A comprehensive measurement system was developed to monitor play in children with autism and typically developing children. The study was conducted in a preschool operated in conjunction with a center-based program for children with autism. The development of the measurement system was based on observations of four children with autism and three typically developing children during social and play activites. Data were collected on material use and several dimensions of play: Simple Manipulation, Functional Manipulation, Symbolic Toy Play, Symbolic Role Play and Play Themes. The results indicated that the measurement system consistently measured a wide range of play behaviors across children and materials. Significance of the information gathered from the measurement system in assessing play and designing interventions is discussed.

Performance measurement is a topic that has received considerable attention during the last decades. There are many motives for using performance measures in a company but perhaps the most crucial one is that they will help to improve productivity when used properly. Productivity is of vital importance to a company’s ability to compete and make profits over time. A company that is not able to efficiently utilise its resources in creating value for its customers will not survive in the competitive business environment of today. However, the development of fully functional and suitable performance measurement systems (i.e. set of measures) has proven to be a very challenging task. This research has focused on the last phase of the development of performance measurement system, namely the continuous updating of the performance measures, which still have not been explored in a satisfactory manner. The objective is to investigate and clarify how to evaluate and revise performance measurement systems. In order to reach this objective, several obstacles that contribute to the complexity of the research area are treated. In the beginning, the thesis thoroughly investigates the confusing terminology within the field and frequently used terms like productivity, profitability, performance, efficiency and effectiveness are explained. Then, a categorisation of ways to measure performance is presented along with advantages and shortcomings of different productivity and other performance measures. Several key-factors found to affect the productivity of a manufacturing company are also discussed, such as: design of processes and equipment, disturbances and losses, management and control, product design, and job design and work organisation. Much attention is given to the different requirements that performance measurement systems must fulfil, both on the system level and the measure level. Finally a method called the performance measurement progression map is finally proposed, which has been developed in order to give measurement practitioners a comprehensive guide of how to evaluate and revise performance measurement systems. The thesis is concluded with the results from several empirical investigations in which the usefulness of the developed method is validated. Keywords: Performance measurement, Performance measurement systems, Productivity, Evaluation / <p>QC 20161026</p>

Qualquer que seja o seu setor de atuação, porte ou origem, as organizações têm enfrentado desafios cada vez mais sérios no propósito de dar continuidade a suas atividades, preferencialmente na busca de um desempenho cada vez melhor, de modo a atingir ou ir além do que é estipulado em seus processos de planejamento. Tais organizações têm a necessidade de identificar, mensurar e avaliar esse desempenho, tornando essa mensuração um importante subsídio para a tomada de decisões mais apropriadas e efetivas, particularmente no que se refere a aspectos outrora negligenciados, como aqueles mais diretamente ligados à questão da sustentabilidade, com destaque para o reconhecimento da importância das chamadas partes interessadas (ou stakeholders), i.e, os diversos públicos que exercem algum tipo de influência na organização ou que são influenciados por ela. Este é, portanto, um dos grandes desafios para as organizações neste momento: como realizar uma apropriada mensuração do desempenho organizacional, considerando-se a necessidade de inclusão dos aspectos relativos à sustentabilidade, como a inserção de resultados finais tríplices (Triple Bottom Line) e a contemplação dos stakeholders como públicos relevantes para que os objetivos estratégicos sejam alcançados. Nesse contexto, o propósito principal deste estudo é responder à seguinte pergunta de pesquisa: Quais são as relações entre as partes interessadas (stakeholders) e os Sistemas de Mensuração de Desempenho (SMDs) das organizações?. Para tanto, pretende-se neste trabalho: (1) entender os conceitos e processos envolvidos na criação e implementação de sistemas de mensuração de desempenho que tenham como foco a sustentabilidade manifestada pelas perspectivas econômica, social e ambiental; (2) considerar-se a participação das partes interessadas e sua influência na determinação do desempenho organizacional a partir do entendimento da importância destes para as organizações; e (3) contribuir, de forma efetiva, para o desenvolvimento teórico, conceitual e prático do assunto em estudo. O referencial teórico consiste em três grandes temas: (i) origem e histórico dos conceitos sobre sustentabilidade e a sua influência nas organizações; (ii) gestão das partes interessadas e sua importância estratégica para as organizações; (iii) mensuração do desempenho organizacional, com seus principais conceitos e metodologias, principalmente considerando-se a inclusão de uma ótica de sustentabilidade. A pesquisa de campo realizada, de natureza quantitativa, é do tipo survey e contou com a participação de 149 empresas pertencentes ao setor industrial e associadas ao CIESP (Centro das Indústrias do Estado de São Paulo). Seus principais resultados apontam para a confirmação das três hipóteses da pesquisa, com correlações positivas entre a influência dos stakeholders e: o Grau de Abordagem Triple Bottom Line; o Grau de Amplitude dos SMDs; e o Grau de Uso dos SMDs. Além disso, verificou-se a prevalência dos consumidores e clientes como a categoria de stakeholders mais influente, seguidos pelos acionistas; o predomínio das dimensões financeira e de clientes na constituição dos SMDs; a concentração do uso dos SMDs para Monitoramento e Foco de Atenção; e a existência de diferenças na percepção quanto à influência dos stakeholders, dependendo tanto do porte quanto da origem do capital das empresas, além de diferenças quanto ao emprego dos indicadores da dimensão ambiental, em função especificamente da origem do capital da empresa. / No matter their size, origin or field, organizations have had to face more and more challenges on their way towards a better performance. Besides trying to reach their goals as defined in their planning process, such organizations have been required to identify, measure and evaluate their performance, turning this into a critical and important element in their decision making processes. Another relevant issue is related to whether this performance measurement process refers to aspects otherwise neglected, such as those directly related to sustainability like the inclusion of social and environmental aspects or the several potential stakeholders influence in the organization, what may require improved performance measurement, beyond what has been done in a more traditional approach. This is a major challenge for organizations nowadays: how to measure their performance, taking into consideration a triple bottom line (economic, social and environmental) approach and the inclusion of a broader stakeholders perspective, according to what has been defined as relevant. From this viewpoint, the main objective of the present research is to answer to the following question: What are the relationships among the stakeholders and the Performance Measurement Systems (PMS) established in organizations?. By doing so, this study will provide: (1) understanding of the concepts and processes embedded in the creation and implementation of performance measurement systems in organizations that are sustainability-oriented; (2) identification of the influence of the stakeholders on the performance measurement systems implementation and use; and (3) an effective contribution to the conceptual and practical aspects related to the subject. The theoretical basis includes three big areas: (i) origin and history of sustainability concepts and their influence on organizations; (ii) stakeholder theory and its importance to organizations; (iii) organizational performance measurement and its concepts and practices, including the sustainability-oriented ones. The field research is quantitative, with a survey been performed among 149 industrial companies associated to CIESP (State of Sao Paulo Industries Centre). The main results point out to the confirmation of the research hypothesis, with positive correlations among Stakeholders Influence and: the degree of Triple Bottom Line approach; the degree of scope of PMSs; and the degree of use of PMSs. The survey was also able to identify the prevalence of Consumers and Clients as the most influential category of stakeholders, followed by Shareholders; the dominance of the Finance and Client perspectives in the design of the PMSs; the incidence of PMSs use regarding Monitoring and Attention Focus; and differences in perception of stakeholders influence, according to the size and the origin of the capital of the organization, and differences regarding the use of environmental indicators, according to the origin of the capital of the firm.

A importância de um bom sistema de medição de desempenho (SMD) para o sucesso de uma empresa é uma questão bastante estudada e discutida, tanto no meio científico quanto no próprio meio empresarial. No entanto, grande parte das empresas não possui um sistema de medição de desempenho que possa lhes trazer uma vantagem competitiva, sendo ele muitas vezes pontual e desligado da estratégia. Por isso, este trabalho é mais uma tentativa de aproximar a teoria e a prática dentro das empresas no que se refere à medição de desempenho organizacional. O objetivo da pesquisa é desenvolver um sistema informatizado para a gestão do desempenho e apresentar um método para sua implantação. Para a definição das características deste método e dos requisitos do sistema, empreendeu-se uma revisão bibliográfica e um estudo de caso em uma empresa de grande porte que já possui um SMD formalizado. O método foi aplicado em duas empresas de Sertãozinho para identificar seus objetivos estratégicos e indicadores de desempenho, o que resultou em uma primeira versão de um SMD formal para elas. Uma aplicação piloto do software foi feita em uma destas empresas para verificar seu funcionamento na prática. Após estes estudos, pôde-se concluir que o método e o sistema são úteis para implantar e acompanhar indicadores de desempenho nas empresas pesquisadas. No entanto, a implantação encontrou alguns obstáculos como a falta de tempo das empresas para se dedicarem à medição de desempenho e a resistência de alguns funcionários em usar o software. / The importance of a well-developed performance measurement system (PMS) for the success of a company is a subject which is widely studied and discussed either in the academic and business enviroments. However, many companies still do not have a performance measurement system able to bring them competitive advantage, because they are all too often ad-hoc solutions not concerned about the strategy. Hence, this work is yet another attempt to bring theory closer to practice inside the companies in the regard of business performance measurement. This research\'s objective is to develop an information system for performance measurement and present a method for its deployment. In order to define the characteristics of both the method and the information system, a literature review and a case study in a company which had a formal PMS were done. The method was then applied to two companies from Sertãozinho aiming to identify their strategic objectives and performance indicators, which resulted in a first version of their formal PMS. A pilot deployment of the software was made in one of these companies to verify how it would work in practice. After these studies, it was possible to conclude that the method and the information system were useful for deploying and keeping track of performance indicators in the researched companies. However, some dificulties were found during the deployment, such as the lack of time available for performance management and the resistance of some employees to the use of the software.

A mensuração da sustentabilidade corporativa é um tema complexo e fundamental para a operacionalização do desenvolvimento sustentável na rotina diária das organizações. Por isso, inúmeros sistemas para sua mensuração foram desenvolvidos após o alerta apresentado pela Agenda 21 Global quanto à sua importância. Apesar da existência desses vários sistemas, algumas lacunas ainda impedem a inclusão da sustentabilidade na agenda operacional das organizações, dentre elas a falta de congruência em relação ao seu conteúdo apresentada pelos diferentes sistemas. Por isso, o objetivo desta pesquisa é desenvolver um modelo de referência para mensuração da sustentabilidade corporativa que possa ser utilizado pelas organizações como ponto de partida para o desenvolvimento e avaliação de seus atuais modelos de avaliação do desenvolvimento sustentável. Para tanto, faz-se um análise comparativa da complementaridade dos oito principais sistemas de mensuração da sustentabilidade corporativa e nacional - Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Métricas do Instituto dos Engenheiros da Inglaterra (ICheme), Índice Dow Jones (DJSI), Triple Bottom Line Index System (TBL), Indicadores Ethos de Responsabilidade Social Empresarial, Indicadores de Desenvolvimento Sustentável da Comissão para Desenvolvimento Sustentável da ONU (CSD), Barômetro de Sustentabilidade e o Dashboard de Sustentabilidade. Essa análise comparativa levou em consideração as oito características fundamentais dos sistemas de mensuração da sustentabilidade. Como resultado final apresenta-se um modelo de referência composto por 157 indicadores que retratam a complementaridade do conteúdo dos sistemas estudados e a sua avaliação em relação às principais características para o desenvolvimento e de sistemas de mensuração da sustentabilidade corporativa. / Measuring corporate sustainability is a complex and fundamental issue for implementing sustainability in the organization daily routine. Therefore, several measurement systems have been developed after the Agenda 21 warning. Despite this, some problems still blocking the inclusion of the sustainability in the corporate operational activities, such as, the measurement content disagreement among systems. Thus, the aim of this master thesis is to develop a reference model to measure corporate sustainability that could be used by organizations to asses and develop theirs current sustainable development systems. By doing so, we have done a comparative analysis of the complementary of the eight well-known sustainability measurement systems, which are: Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Sustainability Metrics (ICheme), Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), Triple Bottom Line Index System (TBL), Indicators of Corporate Responsibility of the Ethos Institute, Indicators of Sustainable Development of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), Barometer of Sustainability, and Dashboard of Sustainability. This comparative analysis was based on eight fundamentals features of the sustainable development measurement systems. As a result, we present a reference model with 157 indicators that shows the complementary of the content of the studied systems. In addition, we also present the evaluation of the studied systems related to the main characteristics to development of the sustainability measurement systems.

Qualquer que seja o seu setor de atuação, porte ou origem, as organizações têm enfrentado desafios cada vez mais sérios no propósito de dar continuidade a suas atividades, preferencialmente na busca de um desempenho cada vez melhor, de modo a atingir ou ir além do que é estipulado em seus processos de planejamento. Tais organizações têm a necessidade de identificar, mensurar e avaliar esse desempenho, tornando essa mensuração um importante subsídio para a tomada de decisões mais apropriadas e efetivas, particularmente no que se refere a aspectos outrora negligenciados, como aqueles mais diretamente ligados à questão da sustentabilidade, com destaque para o reconhecimento da importância das chamadas partes interessadas (ou stakeholders), i.e, os diversos públicos que exercem algum tipo de influência na organização ou que são influenciados por ela. Este é, portanto, um dos grandes desafios para as organizações neste momento: como realizar uma apropriada mensuração do desempenho organizacional, considerando-se a necessidade de inclusão dos aspectos relativos à sustentabilidade, como a inserção de resultados finais tríplices (Triple Bottom Line) e a contemplação dos stakeholders como públicos relevantes para que os objetivos estratégicos sejam alcançados. Nesse contexto, o propósito principal deste estudo é responder à seguinte pergunta de pesquisa: Quais são as relações entre as partes interessadas (stakeholders) e os Sistemas de Mensuração de Desempenho (SMDs) das organizações?. Para tanto, pretende-se neste trabalho: (1) entender os conceitos e processos envolvidos na criação e implementação de sistemas de mensuração de desempenho que tenham como foco a sustentabilidade manifestada pelas perspectivas econômica, social e ambiental; (2) considerar-se a participação das partes interessadas e sua influência na determinação do desempenho organizacional a partir do entendimento da importância destes para as organizações; e (3) contribuir, de forma efetiva, para o desenvolvimento teórico, conceitual e prático do assunto em estudo. O referencial teórico consiste em três grandes temas: (i) origem e histórico dos conceitos sobre sustentabilidade e a sua influência nas organizações; (ii) gestão das partes interessadas e sua importância estratégica para as organizações; (iii) mensuração do desempenho organizacional, com seus principais conceitos e metodologias, principalmente considerando-se a inclusão de uma ótica de sustentabilidade. A pesquisa de campo realizada, de natureza quantitativa, é do tipo survey e contou com a participação de 149 empresas pertencentes ao setor industrial e associadas ao CIESP (Centro das Indústrias do Estado de São Paulo). Seus principais resultados apontam para a confirmação das três hipóteses da pesquisa, com correlações positivas entre a influência dos stakeholders e: o Grau de Abordagem Triple Bottom Line; o Grau de Amplitude dos SMDs; e o Grau de Uso dos SMDs. Além disso, verificou-se a prevalência dos consumidores e clientes como a categoria de stakeholders mais influente, seguidos pelos acionistas; o predomínio das dimensões financeira e de clientes na constituição dos SMDs; a concentração do uso dos SMDs para Monitoramento e Foco de Atenção; e a existência de diferenças na percepção quanto à influência dos stakeholders, dependendo tanto do porte quanto da origem do capital das empresas, além de diferenças quanto ao emprego dos indicadores da dimensão ambiental, em função especificamente da origem do capital da empresa. / No matter their size, origin or field, organizations have had to face more and more challenges on their way towards a better performance. Besides trying to reach their goals as defined in their planning process, such organizations have been required to identify, measure and evaluate their performance, turning this into a critical and important element in their decision making processes. Another relevant issue is related to whether this performance measurement process refers to aspects otherwise neglected, such as those directly related to sustainability like the inclusion of social and environmental aspects or the several potential stakeholders influence in the organization, what may require improved performance measurement, beyond what has been done in a more traditional approach. This is a major challenge for organizations nowadays: how to measure their performance, taking into consideration a triple bottom line (economic, social and environmental) approach and the inclusion of a broader stakeholders perspective, according to what has been defined as relevant. From this viewpoint, the main objective of the present research is to answer to the following question: What are the relationships among the stakeholders and the Performance Measurement Systems (PMS) established in organizations?. By doing so, this study will provide: (1) understanding of the concepts and processes embedded in the creation and implementation of performance measurement systems in organizations that are sustainability-oriented; (2) identification of the influence of the stakeholders on the performance measurement systems implementation and use; and (3) an effective contribution to the conceptual and practical aspects related to the subject. The theoretical basis includes three big areas: (i) origin and history of sustainability concepts and their influence on organizations; (ii) stakeholder theory and its importance to organizations; (iii) organizational performance measurement and its concepts and practices, including the sustainability-oriented ones. The field research is quantitative, with a survey been performed among 149 industrial companies associated to CIESP (State of Sao Paulo Industries Centre). The main results point out to the confirmation of the research hypothesis, with positive correlations among Stakeholders Influence and: the degree of Triple Bottom Line approach; the degree of scope of PMSs; and the degree of use of PMSs. The survey was also able to identify the prevalence of Consumers and Clients as the most influential category of stakeholders, followed by Shareholders; the dominance of the Finance and Client perspectives in the design of the PMSs; the incidence of PMSs use regarding Monitoring and Attention Focus; and differences in perception of stakeholders influence, according to the size and the origin of the capital of the organization, and differences regarding the use of environmental indicators, according to the origin of the capital of the firm.

The main subject of this thesis is to design a voltage peak detector for FPW-based IgE measurement systems. Therefore, two different peak detectors are proposed. The first voltage peak detector basically samples the input signal twice (double sampling) to reduce the ripples appearing during the sample and hold modes. This voltage peak detector also resolves the detection error of conventional voltage peak detectors when they are used to detect the output signal of FPW-based biosensors.The fastest signal which this voltage peak detector can detect is 10 MHz. The second voltage peak detector is composed of a coupling capacitor, an unity gain buffer, an 8th order voltage control voltage source(VCVS) low pass filter, and a non-inverting amplifier. The major difference of this design from the previous one is to filter and amplify the input signal. The specification requirements of the operational transconductance amplifier in this voltage peak detector can be relaxed thereafter. The resolution and performance of the sensing system are also improved. By replacing the conventional power MOS by a non-inverting amplifier, the charging time is reduced and over charge hazard is avoided. Besides, the speed of the entire system is enhanced. The fastest signal which this voltage peak detector can detect is 50 MHz and the precision is 0.357 %.

Bachelor thesis, Business Administration and Economics Programme, School of Business and Economics at Linnaeus University in Växjö. Spring of 2015   Title: Performance measurement from a cost leadership perspective - A case study on Gekås. Authors: Adrienn Csiszer, Hannah Lundberg &amp; Helena Wennerström Tutor: Eva Gustavsson Examiner: Karin Jonnergård   Keywords: Performance measurement, Performance measurement systems, Generic strategy, Cost leadership strategy, Financial and non-financial measurements.   Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how a company with a clear cost leadership strategy chooses to work with performance measurements, with a view to comparing a practical example to theorethical approaches.   Methodology: The method chosen for this paper is a case study on Gekås AB. The presented data were collected through interviews conducted with four employees on Gekås.   Conclusion: The study concludes that for a business with cost leadership strategy the financial measurements are more important than non-financial meausurements. For Gekås it is important to keep the performance measurement simple and understandable for the employees. They only use three measurements (sales, hours and sales per hour) in planning and in evaluation. In conclusion, the complex models that is described in many articles and studies are unnecessary for Gekås thus the cost is greater than the use.

The purpose of this paper is to present a sample of how Swedish manufacturing companies deal with equipment downtime cost, and further how they analyze its reduction. The study was performed by conducting a web-based survey within Swedish firms that have at least 200 employees. The main results obtained from the investigation show that the estimated downtime cost constitute about 23.9 % from the total manufacturing cost ratio, and 13.3 % from planned production time. Additionally, the hourly cost of downtime, whether planned or unplanned, is relatively high. However, there is a shortage of systematic models that capable to trace the individual cost imposed by downtime events. This lack was shown apparently whilst 83 % of surveyed companies they do not have any complete model adapted for quantifying their downtime costs. Moreover, only few companies develop their cost accounting methods such as, activity-based costing (ABC) and resource consumption accounting (RCA) to assimilate and reveal the real costs that associated with planned and unplanned stoppages. Still, the general pattern of downtime cost calculation allocated to direct labor and lost capacity cost. On the other hand, the attempts of decreasing downtime events and thus costs were based on schedule maintenance tactics that supported by overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) tool, as an indicator for affirming improvements. Nonetheless, the analysis indicates the need for optimized maintenance tactics by incorporating reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) and total productive maintenance (TPM) into companies’ maintenance systems. The maintenance role of reducing downtime impacts not highly recognized. Furthermore, the same analysis shows the requirement for better results of performance measurement systems is by implementing total equipment effectiveness performance tool (TEEP). The advantage of such tool is to provide the impact index of planned stoppages in equipment utilization factor. Finally, the lack of fully integrated models for assessing the downtime costs and frameworks for distinguishing the difference between planned and unplanned stoppages are the main reasons behind the continuation of cost in ascending form. Due to that, the improvements will emphasize on areas with less cost saving opportunities. As a result, this will affect the production efficiency and effectiveness which in return has its influence on costs and thereby profits margin.

The construction industry has inherent problems due to its structure and fragmentation. Its poor performance has been challenged by its client base and it has been forced to seek ways to deliver improved performance. This project was initiated as a response to this challenge and represents one organisation's attempt to deliver improvements. This organisation provides both design and construction solutions, offering ‘total life of asset support' from business consultancy through to decommissioning, in a neutral contractual environment. Initial investigations of the integration of design and construction and of the use of the EFQM Excellence Model concluded that a holistic view of the organisation's performance was needed. Most organisations use traditional, easily quantifiable measures, such as time and cost, whilst neglecting the softer cultural issues, as a way of assessing overall business performance. This prompted further research into the use of performance measurement and also a review of the culture that existed within the organisation. It became clear that many performance initiatives failed because of the lack of ‘Change Action driven by Results (CAR)'. The failure to initiate change or implement action based on the results achieved, means that performance measures are not being integrated into the management systems of the organisations. Based on the conclusions of this work, this project has developed and implemented the Integrated Business Improvement System (IBIS) within the primary case study unit and also two other organisations, all of which are part of AMEC Plc. The project details the barriers that were experienced during the development and implementation of the system and concludes that it is the human component that is critical for the successful implementation and use of any improvement system. The findings of this work have been presented in five peer- reviewed papers.